What You Can Claim on Tax Without Receipts, and the Limits

What you can claim without receipts depends on the year of the return

What you can claim on tax without receipts depends on the income year your return covers. For a 2025-26 return, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) allows up to $300 of work-related expenses without full written evidence, as long as you can show you spent the money and how you worked out the claim. For a 2026-27 return, that exception no longer applies. An eligible worker instead receives a standard deduction of up to $1,000, and the ATO says no spending or records are needed for that amount.

The $300 rule offered a lighter form of proof for money really spent. The $1,000 standard deduction is an automatic amount that does not depend on spending anything.

Which rule applies to each type of claim, by income year

The rule follows the income year on the return. The ATO says the standard deduction applies from the 2026-27 income year and does not apply to Tax Time 2025-26, and Part 1 of Schedule 4 of the Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Act 2026 applies to assessments for 2026-27 and later income years.

The $300 limit is not a free $300, and it ends with 2025-26 returns

The $300 limit covers all work-related expenses added together, not each item. According to the ATO, a claim of $300 or less can go in without full written evidence as long as you can show that you spent the money and how you calculated the amount. The ATO's example of acceptable proof is the amounts highlighted on a bank statement, with a written description of each item and how it directly related to work.

The ATO is direct that record keeping exceptions "don't allow you to claim an automatic deduction". Someone who spent nothing has nothing to claim under this rule. Three more points mark the edges of the limit:

• Crossing the line. If the total work-related claim is more than $300, the ATO requires full written evidence for all the claims, not only the part above $300.
• Separate categories. The limit does not apply to car expenses, meal allowances, award transport payments allowance or travel allowance expenses, which have their own record rules.
• A mistaken belief. The ATO says relief will not be granted to someone who thought records were only needed for expenses above $300.

The exception is for 2025-26 and earlier income years. From 1 July 2026 it no longer applies to any taxpayer, whether or not they are eligible for the standard deduction.

A separate $300 rule covers equipment

A different $300 rule also exists, and it is about equipment rather than proof. The ATO allows an immediate deduction for an item costing $300 or less that is used mainly to produce non-business income, and its worked example has the buyer keeping the receipts. Trades workers can see how car and tool questions come up on the Kuluin accountant page.

Laundry, car kilometres and working from home each need their own record

The table shows what the ATO asks for in each case.

The laundry limit sits inside the $300 limit

For 2025-26, the ATO says the $150 does not lift the amount claimable without receipts to $450. Its clothing page adds that $150 or less of laundry can go without written evidence even when total work claims are above $300, but the other work expenses then need written evidence.

Working from home still needs records

Working from home is not receipt-free either, and the ATO says an estimate of hours will not be accepted under the fixed rate method. The ATO's fixed rate page, checked on 4 November 2026, listed rates to 2025-26 and no rate for 2026-27.

The $1,000 standard deduction starts with the 2026-27 return and is now law

The $1,000 standard deduction is enacted law, and it first applies to 2026-27 returns. It sits in the Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Act 2026, which the Federal Register of Legislation lists as in force. The Act received assent on 26 June 2026 and its Schedule 4 commenced on 1 July 2026. That was the position when this guide was written on 4 November 2026. The ATO's Law Companion Ruling on the deduction, LCR 2026/D5, was still a draft on that date, so details that rest only on the draft could change when it is finalised.

Can you get up to $1,000 without receipts? Yes, if you are eligible, but only from the 2026-27 return onward and not on a 2025-26 return.

Who is eligible for the $1,000 standard deduction

According to the ATO, you are eligible for the standard deduction if you are an Australian resident for tax purposes and earn assessable labour income, such as salary and wages. The amount is the lower of $1,000 and your total assessable labour income, so someone earning $400 in wages has a $400 maximum. The ATO applies the deduction automatically. The deduction reduces taxable income and is not a tax offset or rebate, so the result is not $1,000 back in your pocket.

The standard deduction will not apply if your only income is of another type, such as dividends or business income. Sole traders can read more in how sole traders pay tax.

Standard deduction or actual claims: below $1,000, claiming adds nothing

For a person entitled to the full $1,000, claiming work expenses below $1,000 does not change the total deduction. This applies to the expenses that reduce the standard deduction, such as car and laundry costs, which this guide calls covered expenses. Each dollar claimed reduces the standard deduction by a dollar. Claiming only increases the total once covered expenses pass $1,000, and then the standard deduction falls to nil.

This illustrative table uses a resident employee with at least $1,000 of labour income and genuine expenses. The table adds the same $225 of separate claims used in an ATO example, a $50 donation and $175 in tax agent fees, which do not reduce the standard deduction.

The last row is the point to watch. It is the only row where claiming raises the total, and all $1,400 needs records, because the ATO's draft ruling says a person who claims must substantiate the full amount, not just the part above the standard deduction. The $225 of separate claims needs records in every row.

Car use shows where the line falls. At 91 cents per kilometre, about 1,100 work kilometres equals $1,000, before any other covered expense is added.

Which path suits a particular return depends on your expenses and records, and a registered tax agent can apply the rules to your circumstances.

What to keep instead of receipts

Receipts are the standard, and the ATO accepts some substitutes only in set situations. The ATO says written evidence should show the supplier, the cost, the nature of the expense, the date of payment and the date the document was prepared. These records can help when a receipt is missing:

• Bank or card statement plus more. The ATO says a statement on its own is not written evidence. Where a supplier cannot give a receipt, the ATO may grant relief, and it says you also need other documents outlining the goods or services and a written record in your work diary.
• Note for small expenses. For expenses of $10 or less where no receipt is available, a diary or phone note can work, with a yearly total of $200 or less.
• Note for hard-to-get receipts. A note made as soon as possible after the expense, showing the supplier, amount, nature of the goods or services, purchase date and record date.
• Trip records. A diary or the myDeductions tool in the ATO app for work kilometres.
• Hours records. Timesheets, rosters or a diary for working from home hours.
• Photos of receipts. The ATO accepts electronic records, including photos of your written evidence, if they are a true and clear copy.

Which exceptions ended on 1 July 2026, and how long to keep records

The ATO's list of exceptions removed from 1 July 2026 names the $300 limit, the $150 laundry limit and the award transport exemption. The small expense and hard-to-get receipt rules are not on that list.

Written evidence generally has to be kept for 5 years from the date you lodge. For 2026-27, the ATO says keeping records is still a good idea even if you expect to stay under the standard deduction, because unexpected costs can occur.

If the ATO asks you to prove a claim, the claim can be taken off the return

The ATO describes the tax system as relying on self-assessment, accepting the information given as accurate. If it reviews a return and there is no evidence for a deduction, the ATO says the claim can be disallowed, meaning it is taken off the return.

When the ATO may grant relief

The ATO may grant relief in limited circumstances:

• No receipt from the supplier. The evidence must show you spent the money and are entitled to the deduction. Paying cash with no other documents is not enough.
• Genuine and reasonable belief that records were not needed. Not knowing how the rules work does not qualify.
• Records accidentally lost or destroyed. Examples include burglary, disaster and family violence. The ATO can re-issue documents it holds, such as income statements and notices of assessment, and banks should be able to supply bank records, possibly for a fee.

For 2026-27, the draft ruling adds a further point. If claimed work expenses are later found not to be deductible, the ATO may increase the standard deduction up to the amount the person would otherwise have received. The disallowed expense itself stays off the return.

Where to go next

This guide is general information and does not consider your circumstances. If a past return has a claim you cannot support, a registered tax agent can look at what applies to you. Lomandra Accounting prepares individual returns, is registered with the Tax Practitioners Board and works online by phone, video and email. See tax accountant services on the Sunshine Coast or contact us.